Archive for November, 2010

Stretford-End.com can exclusively reveal that Manchester United have plans for significant re-investment in their squad. With Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes set to retire by the end of the 2011/2012 season, Edwin van der Sar hanging up his gloves at the end of this season, the future of Gary Neville due to be decided within the next 6 weeks, and several fringe players given until the end of the season to prove their worth, there have been private assurances to Sir Alex Ferguson that there is money available for a reshaping before he retires.

The major news, aside from the fact that investment is imminent, is that Wayne Rooney’s contract negotations proved vital to this. Many sources claimed that he wanted to leave, many wrongly claimed that a deal had been agreed, but we can state that his involvement in negotiations with the club were solely to force the owners into at least privately confirming their intentions among the players.

Some fantastic news for Manchester United today. Antonio Valencia is ahead of schedule to make his return from injury. Also in the news, Sir Alex targets German keeper Manuel Neuer, Wes Brown wants to make the most of his time left at the club, and Pep Guardiola wants to succeed Sir Alex.

Manchester United’s Carling Cup title defence continues today at Upton Park against West Ham. Only three matches stand between United and a third consecutive trip to Wembley for the League Cup final, and Sir Alex is urging his side to complete a Carling Cup hat-trick. This will be the second time these two sides have met this season; United emerging 3-0 winners when West Ham visited Old Trafford in the Premier League.

If fans could sign players, who would they sign? We’ve all played or know about Football Manager but what we’d do on a game compared to real life differ. A few weeks ago I did a quick twenty minute poll on Twitter asking my followers to name two players they’d sign for Man United if they could…

The FA Cup has produced an incredible piece of news – Manchester United will host Liverpool in the third round. This epic battle is certainly generating headlines, but in other news Anders Lindegaard is ready to battle to be United’s No. 1, Sir Alex may still bring in David De Gea, and Michael Carrick is fighting for a new deal.

Happy Birthday Ryan Giggs! Manchester United’s all-time appearance leader turns 37 today. But even as he enters his late 30s, the Welsh Wizard shows no signs of slowing down with age. Since turning professional in 1990 as a 17-year-old, Giggsy has made 848 appearances for United. He is a dying breed of one-club men; a player whose loyalty matched his outstanding ability on the pitch. Now in his 21st season at Old Trafford, Giggsy has amassed a jaw-dropping 11 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 4 Football League Cups, 8 Community Shields, 2 UEFA Champions League titles, and a FIFA Club World Cup. For all his contributions to football, it may not be long before we’re wishing a happy birthday to Sir Ryan Giggs.

Ryan Giggs has been a fantastic servant to the club for two decades now, so join me in wishing him a very happy birthday!

This week we look focus on three players – one currently playing for the club; one out on loan; and one true Red legend. After three defeats in four games we also assess what’s going on at our rivals, Chelsea.

Dimitar Berbatov’s five-star performance against Blackburn yesterday is dominating the headlines, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few good stories hidden in the shadows of the Bulgarian’s brilliance. The main focus of today’s Stretty Stories will of course be the reaction to Berbatov’s sensational performance, but there’s also stories of Tom Cleverley drawing praise and Sir Alex’s interest in Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Is there a more frustrating footballer than Dimitar Berbatov? Genius one minute, disinterested the next. Whilst others rush to praise him following his five goals in a stunning display against Blackburn I refuse to jump on the bandwagon, I’m yet to be won over and I shall explain why.

Dimitar Berbatov scored 5 goals, equalling a Premier League record, as Manchester United produced their best performance for over 3 years to destroy Blackburn Rovers and move to the top of the table for the first time this season. It was a truly stellar performance with star turns all over the pitch, however the haul and overall performance from Berbatov and a supporting role from Anderson will last long in the memory.